Appeal by Central Excise admitted

A two judge bench of the High Court at Hyderabad comprising Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice M Satyanarayana Murthy on Wednesday admitted an appeal by the Central Excise Department on the question as to whether service tax can be levied when a builder constructed a dwelling place for a person.

The controversy arose when the Appellate Tribunal ruled that such tax was not leviable when it was not a part of a residential complex. Vinayagar Promoters and builders would contend that under the relevant law only flats above12 floors attracted the taxing provisions the Central Excise Department argued to the contrary before the Appellate Authority.

The Appellate authority rejected the claim by the Central Excise Department in July 2014. The bench on Wednesday admitted the appeal of the Central Excise authorities and suspended the order under appeal.